Want to get people to open their wallets for charity? Try reminding them what society expects of them.
That's according to a new study published in the journal PNAS Nexus, which tested different psychological tricks to encourage donations to WaterAid, a charity that brings clean water to communities around the world.
Researchers in Japan surveyed 6,232 people online and ran a second experiment with real ads on Yahoo. They tested five different message styles to see which one made people most likely to donate. One message appealed to helping others directly. Another pointed out how unfair it is that some people have clean water and others do not. A third reminded donors how good they would feel inside. A fourth said donors have the power to change lives. And a fifth simply said something like, "Society is counting on people like you to give.
That last message — the one about social expectations — won. By a lot.
Scientists say it works because people want to see themselves as the kind of person who does what's expected of them. When a message reminds them that others are counting on them, it reduces the guilt they would feel if they did nothing. The messages about altruism and inequality, by contrast, had the weakest effect on donation rates.
The study's lead researcher, Masahiko Haruno, says he hopes this work will help charities craft better fundraising campaigns — and ultimately get more clean water to the people who need it. WaterAid operates in dozens of countries, providing safe drinking water and sanitation to communities that otherwise might go without.
The researchers note that this study only looked at people in Japan. They say it would be worth testing whether social expectations motivate people in other countries just as strongly, or if culture changes how persuasive different messages are.
But for now, the finding is clear: sometimes the simplest nudge — reminding people what their community expects — can make a real difference.